Collapsible furniture



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Hiklllklhlmnm 7 Patented Apr. 12, 1932 Unrrnn; sures SAMUEL n. WEAVER, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA COLLAPSIIBLE FURNITURE Application filed May 1-1, 1928.. Serial No. 276,866

this character which combines great strength 10 with economy in construction, and ."when formed of sheet metal as is preferred being reinforced in'such manner as to make it remarkably well braced against strains which would otherwise tend to twist, flex, or otherwise distortits individual'elements and there fore the device as a whole.

A further object consists in forming a preferably central box-like body section, adapted to contain edibles, campers supplies, port- 29 able stoves, secretarial records (as when used by the military), a tireless cooker, and the like, while a series of shelves and superimposed leaves are pivotally mounted upon said section and in one position said shelves may serve as closures for as many compartments in said body section, while inanother position they serve as shelves, and are supported between pairs of legs which .are preferably formed of channel irons, in turn so suitably hinged, detachably braced to each of said leaves, and said leaves in extended operative position preferably comprising lateral continuations of the upper'surface of said body section and lying in the plane 35 thereof.

With these and other objects inmind, the present invention comprises still further details of construction and operation such as are more fully brought out in the following.

40 description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in whichFig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention in extended operative position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective viewof the same in collapsible position; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of one end portion of a leaf or closure, together with the adjacent portion of the body; Fig, 5 is an enlarged elevation of the same, partly in section; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section on the line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig.7 is an enlarged section showing the nestingflof a pair of legs beneath one of the leaves or closures; Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary portion of the connection between a leaf or closure member. and the body portion of the device shown in elevation; Figs. 9,10, 11 and '12 are sections on-the respective lines 99, 10-10, 1111' and 12-12 of Fig. ,8; Fig. 13 is a transverse section through the detachable folding shelf sectionsin folded position; Fig. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary portion in section showing the connection between a leg and the detachable folding shelf; and Fig, 15 is a fragmentary portion of a leg in elevation showing the keyhole aperture by which the leg supportsithe detachable folding shelf.

Referring to the drawings, the embodiment of the invention here illustrated comprises a hollow central body portion comprising end walls 1 (of which one is shown), and a-top 2, which may be imperforate or may be apertured in any desired manner, as for instance being provided with spaced apertures 3 through which a fireless cooker, refrigerating compartmenuor other device within said body, is accessible from above. The laterally opposite sides of the body 1 are shown asbei'ng open at 4, but adapted to be closed either by leaves or closures 5 or by shelves hereinafter referred to which leaves in extended position. comprise supporting members for said body, said leaves being pivotally connected to said body in any desired manner, but preferably by means of a pin 6 carried by the under surface of each 'leaf and a plate 7 secured in any desired manner as by rivets 8 to said body, but extending freely therefrom and provided with an aperture 9 in its free end portion adapted to receive the free end portion of said pin in order to forma hinge connection. c

In order to construct ahighly serviceable, light-weight and inexpensive article of furniture or campers accessory, it has been found advantageous to form various parts of the device from sheetmetal where possible, and so the table leaves 5 and other portions are illustrated as comprising such construction, but distinctly without intending to limit the scope of the invention 1n any such manner, except m-so-far as certain advantageous details are the result of such construction.

Accordingly, a pair of channel-iron legs 10 and 10 are pivotally connected to the under portion of the respective leaves, such connection preferably comprising inverted U-shaped brackets 11 secured by rivets 12, spot welding, or otherwise, to the under side of each of said leaves, and with one of the depending flanges or sides 13 of each bracket in slightly spaced relation with the marginal flange 14 of the leaf, so as to receive therebetween one of the flanges 15 of the leg, which is pivotally secured in position by means of a bolt or rivet 16, the opposite side or flange 17 of said bracket being spaced from an angleiron 18, also carried by the under side of the leaf, so as to support the other leg flange 19 between them by means of a second bolt or rivet 20.

Each leg at a distance from its upper end portion is also provided with an elongated aperture 21, through which is adapted to extend the bifurcated or notched end portion 22 of a brace member 23, which at its opposite end is pivotally secured by a bolt or rivet 24 between a pair of angle-irons or the like 25, also secured to the under surface of the leaf, said bracket 11 and angle-irons 18 and 25 be ing secured by spot-welding, or in any other suitable manner instead of riveting, if desired. In order to occupy as little space as possible when in folded position, one of the legs 10 is preferably of less width and depth in transverse cross section than the other leg, in order that the former may nest within the latter when they are folded into parallel re- 3 lation beneath the leaf 5, and are hidden from normal view by the depending flange 14, as shown in Fig. 7.

The opposite ends of each of the leaves 5 are also turned downwardly to provide flanges 26, to which are pivotally secured by any suitable means 27 pairs of links 28 and 29, pivotally connected by means of a bolt or rivet 30, said pivotal connection being in the end portion of one link and spaced from the end portion of the other link, so that said other link comprises a free end portion 29, having a recess 30 adapted to slidablyand removably receive the head 31 of a stud 32, which may be of any suitable nature, such for instance as a rivet extending through and secured to the link 28 in spaced relation with the rivet 30. The opposite end of each of the links 29 is secured to the body of the device by pivotally connecting said last-named link by suitable means 33 to the end 34 of a bracket 35, which is secured preferably to the inner surface of an end wall 1 of said body portion, and extends freely therefrom through an aperture 36 in a marginal flange 37 of said wall.

Each of the legs 10 and 10 is provided with a so-called key-hole aperture 38, having a restricted depending extension 39. A shelf adapted to support the usual portable stove of campers, and in fact many other articles, preferably comprises at least two sections 40 and 40, secured together by hinges or the like 41 and adapted to be secured in extended operative position in a common plane by any suitable means 42, which may be fixedly secured to one of said sections and comprise an angular offset 43, adapted to limit the angular movement of one section with respect to the other about the hinges 41, said shelf sections being also preferably of metal and comprising marginal flanges 44 and 44 respectively, to the flange 44 there being secured studs 45 having heads which are adapted to be inserted through the apertures 38 in the legs 10 and 10 when the latter are in extended operative position, said studs then being moved downwardly into the restricted portions 39 of the apertures 38, to form a disengageable yet normally fixed connection between said shelf and said legs. Each of said legs is also provided above its aperture 38 with a second aperture 46 adapted to removably receive a hooked end portion 47 of a tie rod 48, the opposite end 49 of which is also hooked and is adapted to normally extend through an aperture 50 in one of said shelf sections, preferably the outermost section 40.

The body portion 1 may be provided with any number of fixed shelves and the opposite sides of the said body portion 1 may be additionally provided with any suitable number of hinged shelves or closures 51 and 52, preferably formed of sheet metal and provided with peripheral flanges, said shelves when extended being limited as to their angular movement and maintained preferably in horizontal parallel relationship by means of tie rods 53, which for compactness and general utility may comprise sections of flexible cable or the like, each of which is secured at one end to said body portion and at its other end is secured to one of said shelves as shown in Fig. 1, and said shelves in raised position forming closures for the whole, or portions of, the otherwise open sides 4 of said body section.

In transporting the present device from place to place, the tie rods 48 are removed, the shelf 4040' is raised vertically and thence moved outwardly so as to release the studs 45 from either or both of the legs 10 and 10, and the sections 4(l-40 then folded upon each other and placed with the tie rods 48 on the under side of one of the leaves 5 surrounded by the flange 14. The shelves 51 and 52 may then be raised until one is substantially a continuation of the other along a vertical side of said body portion, being held in this position by spring latches or other suitable means.

The lower free notched end 22 of each of the braces 23 is thereupon raised so as to release it from engagement with the lower limit of the respective apertures in the legs 10 and I 10, after which said legs upon being moved i 7, after whichthe links 28 and 29 of each supporting pair are broken in the center so that they enter the position shown by dotand-dash lines 28 and 29 in Fig. 8, each leaf 5 being simultaneously lowered into such position as to complete the closure of the adjacent open sides of the body'portion 1, and also to house one of the upper shelves 51 and extend preferably at least slightly over the upper portions of the shelves 52 in closed position, the leaves 5 being held in'folded position by means of their respective studs 55 being engaged by latches or hooks 56 carried in any suitable manner by said body portion. The device may then be secured to such a supporting device as the running board of an automobile or other vehicle by means of depending clamps 58 extending through brackets 59, also secured in any suitable manner to the under side of saidbody portion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. An article of furniture, comprising a body portion having an open side, a member having a peripheral marginal flange and pivotally associated with said body, said memher being adapted in one position to close said open side and in another position to form a supporting element, a leg pivotally carried by the flange of said member and having an aperture, a link also carried by said flange and adapted to engage said side of said aperture to maintain said leg in extended operative position, and a second link extending between said body and said member and operative to limit the angular movement of said member with respect to said body, said leg and links being housed within said peripheral flange when said member is not in use and is in collapsible position.

2. An article of furniture, comprising a body, a pair of members pivotally connected with said body and adapted in one position to lie in relatively close relation with said body and in another position to be extended therefrom and substantially in alignment with each other, a leg pivotally carried by each of said members, a link adapted to cone nect each of said members with its respective leg to maintain said leg in operative position, a plurality of links extending between said body and the respective members and operative to limit the angular movement of said respective members with respect to said body, whereby said members when extended and said legs when in their operative position cooperate to support said body, :a supporting element adapted to be detachably connected to each of-and supported solely by said legs when in extended position, and means to predetermine the angular relation between said last-named memberand said legs.-

.3. An. article a of furniture, comprising a body, a pair of members pivotally connected with said body and adapted in one position to lie in relatively close relation with said body and inanother position to be extended therefrom' and substantially in alignment with each other, a leg pivotally carried by each ofsaid members, a link adapted to connect each of said memberswith its respective leg tomaintain said leg in operative position, a plurality of links extending between said body and the respective membersand operative to limit the angular movement of said respective members with respect to saidbody, whereby said members when extended and said legs when in their operative position 'cooperate to support said body, a folding member, means :to maintain the sections ofsaid last-named member in extended alignment, means to detachably support said member solely from said legs, and means to maintain a given angular relation between said lastna-med'member and said legs. i F

' 4:. An article of furniture, comprising a body portion having oppositely directed open sides, supporting members pivotally carried by said body and in extended position adapted to form a substantial continuation of the upper surface of said body toform a table, and in retracted positions said members forming closures for the open sides of said body, a plurality'of legs pivotally carried by the free edge portion of each of said members, means extending between and operative to yieldingly maintain said legs in extended positions with respect to said members, means extending between and operative to limit the angular movement between said body and said members, whereby said le s and members cooperate to support said ody, aplu-,

rality of shelves pivotally carried by said body and adapted to be moved into substantially parallel relation with respect to said members when extended, and means to limit the angular movement of said shelves.

7 5. An article of furniture, comprising a body portion having oppositely directed open sides, supporting members pivotally carried by said body andin extended position adapted to form a substantial continuation of the upper surface of said body to form a table, and in retracted positions said mem bers forming closures for the open sides of said body, a plurality of legs pivotally carried by the free edge portion of each of said members, means extending between and opera-tive to yieldingly maintain said legs in ex.-

tended positions with respect to said members, means extending between and operative to limit the angular movement between said body and said members, whereby said legs and members cooperate to support said body, a pair of said legs being provided with apertures, a supporting member adapted to detachably engage said legs in said apertures, said legs when in operative position forming the sole support for said member, and means to predetermine the angular relation between said supporting member and said legs.

6. An article of furniture, comprising a body portion having oppositely directed open sides, supporting members pivotally carried by said body and in extended position adapted to form a substantial continuation of the upper surface of said body to form a table, and in retracted positions said members forming closures for the open sides of said body, a plurality of legs pivotally carried by the free edge portion of each of said members, means extending between and operative to yieldingly maintain said legs in extended positions with respect to said members, means extending between and operative to limit the angular movement between said body and said members, whereby said legs and members cooperate to support said body, a supporting member formed of a plurality of sections, a plurality of said legs being provided with apertures, one section of said member bein adapted to detachably engage a plurality 0 said legs within said apertures, said legs when in operative position forming the sole support for said member, means to maintain said sections in extended positions, and means extending between said supporting member and said legs to predetermine their relative position.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my signature.

SAMUEL D. WEAVER. 

